Good
by Random Guise
Summary: Based on the 2007 TV show Kingdom. Peter Kingdom does the best he can as a solicitor in a small English seaside town, but it isn't always easy. I don't own these characters, but I have been on jury duty. Note: I have fixed the story so I'm not calling Lyle 'Kyle' most of the time.


**A/N: A one scene shot that takes place during the first series of the TV show "Kingdom" with Stephen Fry.**

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Good

"You're good, Peter" Gloria Millington declared.

"In a town like Market Shipborough, that's not hard considering what few solicitors we have here. I'm one of the best because I'm one of the few" Peter Kingdom, senior and only surviving partner of Kingdom and Kingdom told his legal secretary. "In a large city I'd be average."

"That's not what I meant; I mean you're a good man, decent and kind. But I think you're right, a big city like London would just swallow you up and spit you out without breaking a sweat."

Lyle Anderson, trainee solicitor currently employed by Peter, entered the office from the front room where he had been listening and leaned against the doorway to better follow the conversation unobserved.

"That's what my Aunt Auriel says. 'Peter, everything always fell on your shoulders.' I don't intend for it to happen..."

"I know you don't" Gloria said softly as she reached up and put her hand on his shoulder for emphasis. "When your dad had Alzheimers, you took care of things."

"We _were_ the business, I had to take over not only because I was the son but I was the practice partner as well."

"Yes, but they didn't teach you that in Cambridge. You did it because it was the right thing to do. Then you've had to deal with Beatrice and her behavioral problems..."

"Now she was my sister, what would I have her do...live on the streets? Besides, I think I did the mental health facilities here a great service by _not_ having her inciting the other patients by staying there."

"You could have, or put her in hospital and washed your hands of her but you didn't. And then Simon..."

Simon was Peter's brother and had disappeared the previous year while at sea. Presumed dead, Peter had switched from bailing his brother and business partner out of shady problems to standing on the beach wondering when his body would wash up on the Norfolk shore. "He was family, I had to. I may not have been happy with some of the things he did, but I couldn't love him less for it."

"Okay, what about me? I'm not family, but you were there for me and Scott when Andrew died."

"You and your husband were family; _are_ family. You're just the sister I never had, and considering my life thank God didn't have more problems than you already had raising Scott by yourself" he said as he gave her a big hug. Big hearts gave big hugs, and Peter proved it time and again. "Emotional attachment and empathy; damned inconvenient at times, that's for sure" he mused out loud.

"Bleeding heart cases a specialty?" Lyle finally spoke up.

"Hardly, Lyle" Peter said as he disengaged from Gloria and took his favorite cup from the trainee. The drink was cold by now, but he finished it off and set the squarish mug down with the large 'K' on its side facing the door. "Unless you were born with a fortune, you still have to get paid from time to time to keep the wolves away from the front door. "The 'K' stands for kind, karing and kompletely dependent on the good name of Kingdom in Market Shipborough. We can't always just cater to those who can easily pay."

"Like that farmer Dorsett" Gloria interjected.

"What farmer?" Lyle asked.

"Oh, it was before you arrived while...Simon was still here. But I got paid for that business, rest assured."

"In meat" Gloria giggled.

"In meat?" Lyle asked incredulously. "What, did you agree to filing some paperwork 'and throw in a few chops if you don't mind?'" he asked with a grin on his face.

"Of course not, although it's good to see you're willing to negotiate fees; remind me when we discuss your next raise. No, Dorsett had a place outside of town and there was an issue with grazing rights on some bordering land. He had some type of disease with his grass and his cattle could only find healthy grazing on an adjacent property which he managed to use without permission" Peter explained.

"Didn't know we did that sort of thing, sounds more like something for the county to take care of."

"I agree, and I told him as much. But I use the law like a surgeon uses a scalpel; as infrequently as possible and for as short a time as I can. I told him I didn't see much that I could do legally."

"Until he saw the cattle" Gloria advised.

"What about them?" Lyle wondered.

Peter thought back. "Well, they were cattle in the sense there was more than one and they looked more like cows than, say, sheep or horses or chickens. The poor things were thin, and they had these big sad eyes. Just the opposite of Millie." At the sound of her name Peter's dog jumped up out her bed. She was still a bit round from being overfed by everyone that came through the office, but she didn't lack energy.

"I'm a city boy, but don't they all have sad eyes?" Lyle grinned as he pulled his lower lids down.

"Yes, but you don't get the full impact until you see one up close. I think they should use them in those orphan adverts where they ask for money, it would bring in double the donations. I'm almost ready to write out a cheque just thinking about it."

"Bleeding hearts again" Lyle surmised. "So you agreed to handle the case in return for some fresh beef because he didn't have any money."

"Not exactly" Gloria laughed.

"I started out by arranging a greatly reduced rate for my services as a mediator. During the course of the case however...do you notice how some of the roads around here have blind corners where the trees come in close to the pavement?"

"Not a problem on my bike."

"No, of course not. If I tried to get around on a bicycle I could start on a dirt road and they'd have finished paving it before I collapsed at my destination. If God had wanted us to pedal around he wouldn't have invented drivers' licenses. But I was on my way out to Dorsett's when one of those bloody..."

"Ahem" Gloria said very loudly.

"...one of the members of what we barely could call his herd stood in the road. Neither he nor I had a chance."

"Not the Alvis!" Lyle cried.

"The very same. It was nip and tuck for awhile, but you'd never how close she was to the crusher then."

"A cracked headlight, crumpled fender and a bent bumper" Gloria whispered.

"Don't underplay it, the frame might have been bent if I'd hit any harder. But I'm afraid they had to put the poor cow down, so in consideration of killing twenty percent of his herd I took the meat in lieu of payment."

"Set up in steaks for months, very nice."

"If I had a large freezer, yes. But I don't, so they went to the homeless shelter and THEY ate like kings for a fortnight. Oh, and Millie got some nice bones out of it."

"So," Lyle drew out "the moral of the story is..."

"There is no moral. Why does everything have to have a moral? Sometimes things just _are_. Sidney smells, it rains if you leave the top down on your car, Mrs. Thing can be in two places at once, and business doesn't stay slow for long. Speaking of, come with me Lyle while I tell you about our next challenge."

"Okay, only because you're good" Lyle teased on the way out.

"Oh, not you _too_ " Peter groaned.

The End

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 **A/N: A show that took a charming look at life outside the big city, with the usual mix of odd local characters presenting their problems to the nice guy protagonist. Fluffy at times almost to the point of being too maudlin, but I liked it.**


End file.
